Wednesday

Mar 7, 2018 at 10:47 AM

Continuing a proposal that has been in the works for a number of years, Siskiyou County Off Road Riders representative Darrel Collins came before the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors to request approval of an off-highway vehicle route, which would include approximately 90 miles of paved and unpaved roads for OHV use.

Continuing a proposal that has been in the works for a number of years, Siskiyou County Off Road Riders representative Darrel Collins came before the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors to request approval of an off-highway vehicle route, which would include approximately 90 miles of paved and unpaved roads for OHV use.

Collins related to the board that there are currently no specific requirements for where OHVs can and cannot be and that an ordinance would provide clarification.

In addition to letting OHV riders know where riding is legal and illegal, Collins said, an ordinance would allow SCORR to pursue grant funding from the state of California that could be used for OHV safety education, training classes and closing off roads where access is not allowed. Without an ordinance, Collins explained, that funding is not available to the county.

District 4 supervisor Lisa Nixon expressed that she feels it “imperative” that the county obtain grant funding for education, outreach and law enforcement surrounding OHV use. She noted that, in researching OHV ordinances passed in other counties, there was not a major influx in OHV riders – a possibility that some community members had voiced concern for in the past.

During a call for public comment on the item, one citizen came forward and said that she felt any private property owners living along the route should be contacted for comment on any concerns they might have regarding the matter. Collins confirmed to the board that there are some private property owners who reside along the proposed route.

The board unanimously approved the conceptual OHV route and directed staff to analyze potential impacts of the route, including any issues with the California Environmental Quality Act, conflicts with people and wildlife, and other liabilities and costs.

Later in the meeting, the board heard from county administrator Terry Barber regarding a slew of personnel requests, including one to adjust the salary of her own position from approximately $150,000 per year to $180,000 per year.

Board chair Ray Haupt noted that the adjustment to the county administrator’s salary was a board-initiated item, not a request by Barber. He also explained that it was Barber who initiated the elimination of a requirement in the CAO contract that requires payment upon death or retirement of 60 days of accumulated sick leave at the current rate of pay. Elimination of that benefit would save the county approximately $41,500. Editor’s note: It was reported in the March 5 edition of the Siskiyou Daily News that the savings would be closer to $30,000, but that figure was erroneously calculated based on 365 days in a year instead of five work days per week.

The board approved both the elimination of the sick leave payout and the $30,000 per year raise. District 3 supervisor Michael Kobseff abstained from the vote, explaining that, while he did not want to flatly vote “no,” he would prefer a “tiered effect” that would begin with raising the CAO’s salary by five percent annually.

The board then unanimously approved changes in positions for a number of other county departments, including probation, health and human services, and public works.

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